Little Bird
by psychxdelix
Summary: "Whether you're beaten or pampered, fed the best foods or starved, kept in filth or kept clean, a cage is still a cage."―Anne Bishop. In her eyes, she'd forever be locked in her cage. Like a good little bird, she'd sit in that cage and awaited her death, because she knew she couldn't escape. She could not face her fears. She did not wish to experience the suffering of fighting it..
1. Pilot

**Summary: "Whether you're beaten or pampered, fed the best foods or starved, kept in filth or kept clean, a cage is still a cage."―Anne Bishop. In her eyes, she'd forever be locked in her cage. Like a good little bird, she'd sit in that cage and awaited her death, because she knew she couldn't escape. She could not face her fears. She did not wish to experience the suffering of fighting it...**

 **Favorite, Follow, and review this story please!**

 **The Rating may go up later if I decide to make this a little darker or have a sum sum somewhere in here. Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: All characters belonging to Collar x Malice are not mine.**

* * *

"Kazuki!"

 _Awe shit... Here we go..._

"What!"

 _They're like cats and dogs._ She thought as she slowly entered her cousin's apartment. Every morning was similar to the scene that was unfolding before her. Around the time she would arrive to pick up her cousin, Ichika, she and her younger brother, Kazuki, would be arguing about something or Ichika would simply be nagging the boy.

"Where were you last night? You didn't text me or give me a call." Ichika frowned, "It's dangerous to be out and about at night!"

"I texted Kotori..." The teen grumbled before he glanced at the woman who slowly emerged from the hall into the kitchen.

Now the two sibling's gazes turned from each other to the woman with turquois hair.

 _Sigh... Will they never fix their relationship?_ Kotori couldn't help but think as she closed her eyes in defeat, reopening them to meet Ichika's gaze, "He did text me when he left and when he arrived home. He was at Akito's place, okay? I already gave them a call and everything so no more fighting." She stated softly as she raised her hands a bit in defeat. "We'll be late for work if you continue."

That seemed to have done the trick. Immediately Ichika shrieked a bit surprised before she gathered her things quickly. "Ah, Kazuki, I won't be making excuses for you forever... So, know that at some point you're going to have to tell Ichika..." She whispered before kissing the top of her younger cousin's nose.

"H-Hey...!" The boy hissed with a blush on his cheeks.

"Be good, Kazuki~" The woman smiled before she walked out of the apartment, "I'll be waiting for you downstairs, Ichika! Don't waste more time!"

Ichika and Kazuki Hoshino were her dearest cousins. Until that year, she had never wanted them to fix their relationship so badly. The reason being, at any moment any of them could become a victim of murder.

On April 1st, a video was posted and played on the giant screens facing the Shinjuku train station. At the time, no one knew what that video would cause in their city. The video showed some people, appearing to be police officers, tied up in chairs.

 _"In order to restore tainted Japan to health, the countdown to X-Day will now begin. Our objective is simple. Purge the corruption from this land, and make Shinjuku the site of its rebirth. If you are afraid, then leave this land. We will not be stopped. But know this; No matter where you are, you will be judged. There are no exceptions. We will resurrect truth in this world. No longer will only the weak be persecuted."_

Those words, ominous and cold, struck many people's hearts with fear, and others with a newly lit fire. But for the police, they didn't focus on the words... All they saw were their fellow policemen in possible danger. So, the police began to work frantically to trace the broadcast in hopes to find and save their comrades. Mostly to save face, in Kotori's opinion... It was then that prior to the broadcast, a number of officers had disappeared and reported missing. The transmission's origin and the officers were never found, and before they knew it, May arrived. By then, the public either forgot the video or assumed it was an ill-conceived prank. Another video was uploaded with the bound officers from April's video.

 _"Thank you for waiting, everybody. The time for judgement is at hand. As we mentioned before, the people here are criminals. In order to cure Japan, such people must be exterminated. Judgement has been passed as a preview of X-Day. This is not the end. Henceforth, we will continue to mete out justice to aid our nation's rebirth. Our name is... Adonis... Hear me well, listeners. Make sure that you remember this name, okay? May this world become a paradise~!"_

The voice stopped, and suddenly gunshots rang out, and the police officers were shot, much to the onlookers' surprise and horror.

The police traced the video not long after the broadcast, to an abandoned building and confirmed one officer's death. However, other officers' bloodstains were found. The criminals' trail, and the missing officers' whereabouts are still unknown. No one knew until then, the video was no prank, it was becoming a new reality for them. The incident began a chain of heinous crimes that continued into June, July, and August, and the number of victims rose. Public scrutiny of the police grew harsh as time passed and police efforts were fruitless.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't find my phone!"

Pulled away from her thoughts, Kotori turned towards her cousin with a smile, "Don't worry too much about it, Ichika. Next time just have everything ready the night before." She stated lightly before the two began to walk to work. Neither one said a word, and Kotori easily drifted back to her earlier train of thought.

At every crime scene a Roman numeral indicating a countdown and a unique coin believed difficult to counterfeit were always found Markings on the coin lead some to believe that the once-dismantled terrorist organization known as Adonis had been reborn.

Then, September 1st, exasperated by the repeated incidents, the government took extreme measures for the sake of public safety. The Shinjuku Quarantine Act. This, intended to trap the criminals within the borders of Shinjuku, obviously drew the wrath of the public. Demonstrations bordering on riots broke out, but the government suppressed these, and stated that it was for Shinjuku's safety. The government did not stop there. It also adopted unprecedented extralegal measures. Repeal of the Swords and Firearms Control Law. To provide citizens a means of defense, firearms were provided to all people over the age of 20 within Shinjuku. It was all under the pretext of self-defense. The firearms and ammo were all coded, in order to quickly determine a shooter's identity whenever a weapon was discharged.

 _"The criminals have guns, so the people should be given equal access to equal arms."_

 _Such bullshit..._ Kotori was one of the few within the police that voiced their outrage with such a law. Giving firearms to untrained and frightened citizens would cause more harm than good.

 _"Thus, as an extralegal measure, the residents of Shinjuku district exclusively have an obligation to carry firearms."_

The law, ratified behind closed doors, was suddenly announced to the public. The police had to obey the governments' mandate, and the unrest of the citizens trapped within Shinjuku swelled. Though upset, one could say that the citizens were now better suited to survive other incidents.

There were so many holes in their plan, even Kotori could see that. But even so...

"Kotori, are you okay?" Ichika asked, breaking the woman from her thoughts again.

"Oh? Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't get enough sleep last night so I was just lost in thought for a second." Kotori smiled softly before the two crossed the street.

"It must be hard, being a detective and all..." Ichika murmured softly, almost sadly.

Kotori let out a short laugh before shaking her head. "Because I'm a woman, they don't have me doing much else besides helping Forensics and one of the Field Operations Support. I do get to go out from time to time when there is a murder, but I'd rather be doing those menial tasks than looking at the dead bodies." She stated softly. "Honestly, as crazy as it sounds, I'd much rather have your job, Ichika..."

At this, her cousin looked at her with surprise.

"I've always wanted to help people, to catch the bad guys so no one could ever feel sadness ever again. I have so many mixed feelings about Adonis, I'm pretty unsuited to be on it..." Kotori admitted before the two began to walk up to their building. "Well, I'm off, I'll see you later, Ichika~" She smiled before rushing off into the building and slipping into one of the elevators.

"Oh, lookie here~ The little bird found me~"

 _It's too early for your shit..._

"Shiraishi... Shouldn't you be with Mukai or something?" Kotori asked softly as icey blue colored eyes glared at the taller man beside her, who evidently, was holding the door to the elevator so it would remain open.

"Actually, I'm heading out to their place. And you need to tag along~" He smirked down at her as he reached out and poked her nose, "Be an obedient little bird and follow me?"

"Why would I do something like that?" She asked with her irritation evidentally growing.

"Because it involves X-Day... Something came up..." Shiraishi whispered as he leaned down near her ear. Something in his usually whimsical tone was different. That was the only reason she let out a sigh.

"... Lead the way, Shiraishi." She stated before the man smirked even wider and walked off the elevator, knowing Kotori would follow after him. Until recently, their interactions were exclusively to work, however now they spent a bit more time around each other because of their side job.

 **-Two Months Ago-**

October 7th...

Shiraishi was leading Kotori and some other gentlemen to a meeting with two ex-cops.

 _I wonder what kind of people these two are... It better be worth it... I had to skip our meeting place this morning for this shit..._ Kotori thought softly before the three of them came up to the door. Shiraishi, being the only one in the group to know at least one person behind the door, knocked to announce their presence. Though, the ever-so-impatient man already opened the door before anyone on the other side could answer it.

"Hey. It's been a while, Yanagi." Shiraishi grinned.

"We just met last week..." The man, Yanagi, stated. His hair was black and unruly. His eyes were cold lilac. He looked like he was carrying a lot of baggage.

"Oh, was that when it was?" Shiraishi asked, confused. He gently scratched the side of his head.

"Yes. That's when we decided to meet here. Without that meeting, you wouldn't be here today."

Shiraishi laughed, "Haha, that's true. Thankfully, I've been busy with work. Guess I just lost track of time!" He grinned happily, his hand dropping to his side.

"Liar." Kotori whispered harshly in annoyance before she turned away.

"By 'work', I'm assuming you've just found some new hobby entirely unrelated to work, right?" Yanagi asked.

 _At least the man knows!_

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean."

 _Don't say it like it's a good thing!_

"Anyway, you're here. And I assume that you are Takeru Sasazuka and Kotori Akagawa?" Yanagi then turned his attention to the one's behind the long-haired blonde.

"Hi." Sasazuka stated with arms crossed over his chest. The man looked pretty young to Kotori, but she heard of his skills from her former partners, and she chose not to say anything to him. He had a way with words... His hair was just as unruly and messy as Yanagi's, maybe even more so, and his eyes reminded her of rubies. They were actually really pretty, despite them being so cold.

Kotori simply nodded a bit as she set a hand on her hip. She was rather young herself, she had to admit but she was actually only a year younger than Sasazuka.

As soon as Yanagi finished scanning the two younger adults behind Shiraishi, everyone turned their attention to Enomoto, who after introducing himself, was being toyed with by none-other-than Shiraishi. It was pretty pitiful to see, so Kotori opted to just ignore it. She scanned the area before her eyes drifted to the next room. There were two beds that she could see. One was clearly neater than the other which indicated one of them was severely messy or had just recently woken up. It wouldn't take a genius to know that, or to know that Enomoto was probably the culprit.

Enomoto had wine red hair that was wavy and messy, which had made Kotori start think that all these men needed a hair brush, and bright gold eyes. But for some reason, it was like they were darkened by something. His past.

She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts when Yanagi broke up the fight that seemed to have broken out between Enomoto and Sasazuka.

"I'm Aiji Yanagi. Formerly of Section 1. I'd like you both to properly introduce yourselves, as well." Yanagi stated as he looked between Sasazuka and Kotori.

But it seemed Sasazuka had a response for that, that wasn't the answer Yanagi wanted. "You already know who I am... Rather, I mean, I haven't decided whether I'll be helping you. It's not gonna work if this guy's here. We'll get nowhere." Everyone didn't need to follow his glare to know who he was referring to.

"Me!?" Enomoto sounded offended. She almost felt bad.

"Who else could I be talking about?" Sasazuka stated harshly.

"Oh, are you sure you don't want to team up? If Yanagi's team doesn't work with us, then you won't get any new intel." Shiraishi said, as if trying to coax the man as one would coax a child.

 _Looks like he got the man..._

Sasazuka looked away, "It's not like... I mean, that's a separate issue..." He grumbled a bit begrudgingly.

"What about you, Kotori?" Shiraishi asked as he grinned down at the woman who had been silent since they left the station. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Kotori gave Shiraishi a look before she sighed, "... My name is Kotori Akagawa, I'm a part of Investigations that is currently stationed here in Shinjuku. I haven't really made a final decision yet, but I think introducing myself anyways is politer than behaving like a brat." She stated before glancing at the hacker.

"What did you say?" Sasazuka stated.

But Kotori remained quiet.

"The birdy likes to say what's on her mind without a filter. Don't mind her." Shiraishi stated.

"Sasazuka, Akagawa... Enomoto and I are here because we're investigating the X-Day crimes happening in Shinjuku. All of our goals might be slightly different, but our determination to solve this is real. You know as well as I do that there's only so much you can accomplish investigating this on your own after you cut ties with the police. But we still want to do what we can. We'll leave no stone unturned in our efforts."

 _Pretty words... But I would need to see the actions to believe them. Otherwise they're just empty, pretty words..._

"I just like solving mysteries, but solving these mysteries should also stop the crimes." Shiraishi piped up with a smile, "My passion for the job is plenty genuine, FYI."

"Wow, that's so fishy~" Enomoto stated.

"Glad someone else can smell his bullshit just like I can." Kotori stated.

"How rude. I'm serious about my intent to solve this at any cost." Shiraishi defended with a pout.

"I wonder about that." Kotori grumbled.

"But wait, you're both still working for the police. Are you sure you're okay with helping us out?" Enomoto asked suddenly.

"What's the problem? I'm good enough to not get caught, and even if I do, you'll go down with me." Shiraishi smirked.

"So, you're already planning to sell us out!?" Enomoto said shocked. His expression was a bit funny.

The profiler smirked before laughing, "Haha, let's back burner that question."

"You can't really put that on hold! Is this guy really your friend, Yanagi?" Enomoto murmured.

"So, what about you, Enoki? Why are you looking into the X-Day cases?" Shiraishi asked.

Kotori sighed, "If you're going to ask him a question, the least you can do is call him by his actual name, catnip-for-brains."

"Yeah! It's not Enoki! It's Eno-mo-to!"

"Yet another topic I think we can shelve."

 _This man plays too much._

Losing interest in the conversation quickly, Kotori moved from her spot over to the bookshelf and looked at the spines of the books. There were a few different genre's that she noticed while simultaneously taking in the necessary information from the men's conversation. It seemed that she was quiet enough that her presence could go about unnoticed for the time being. Every one of them seemed to have some sort of reason for being there...

Except her.

 **-Present-**

In the end, she ended up joining their little group and successfully avoiding any questions that were asked about her motivations.

As they neared the building Yanagi and the others of their group were at, someone with white hair and pale purple eyes suddenly came up to them with their own signature smile on his face.

"Okazaki..." Kotori smiled a bit back. When the man and his partner first showed up, she, like the rest of the men, were very wary about him. They all had a good idea as to why he was set to watch them, but nothing could be done about it. Eventually he became part of their routine when they showed up to the office. If he wasn't there to show his face at least once, they'd all feel it would be off and become suspicous.

"Akagawa! Shiraishi! Good morning~ You're here awfully early, aren't you?" Okazaki asked with a smile that looked so warming and kind. It made Kotori not trust him in the first place.

"Are we not allowed to come by so early?" Shiraishi smiled at the man before he walked past him, Kotori following after him. But, Kotori didn't get too far.

Okazaki grabbed her hand, "You should really let me treat you to breakfast, Akagawa." He insisted happily, "We can go now, if you'd like?" He was a pushy person, and it reminded her of a child trying to get the attention of their parent.

"Not today. Tomorrow is fine with me. But instead of breakfast, what about lunch?" Akagawa stated with a smile of her own. "I walk my cousin to work every morning just for her own protection, it makes me feel at ease that way, but having lunch with someone will also help my nerves. Is that alright with you?" She tilted her head.

Shiraishi watched the interaction silently, a grin on his lips.

It seemed that Kotori was very good at keeping up with Okazaki's rhythm, and always knew how to deal with him. It was convenient for anyone with her since she seemed very capable of adapting to a situation of any kind, very quickly.

"That sounds great!" Okazaki smiled before he released her hand. "It's a date then~"

"Mhm~ See you then, Okazaki. Please try to sleep in a proper bed." Kotori smiled before she moved away from him and left with Shiraishi, disappearing into the building.

When the two were walking up the steps Shiraishi smirked down at her, "You seem to like Okazaki." He stated as he was attempting to tease her. "You always seem way too willing to go along with him."

"It's not a matter of willing, I just find it exhausting to argue with him, so I'd rather save the energy and at least make the situation easier on myself by going along with his antics..." Kotori sighed, "Plus, he reminds me of my older brother in a way. And in the end, I get free food." She shrugged as she moved past Shiraishi and to the Office door. "He's the one who asked me out, so he's paying for me." She added as she walked into the office. She was met with Enomoto, who was always there, and Sasazuka, who seemed to have had just gotten there before Shiraishi and her.

"Akagawa! Good morning~" Enomoto smiled before he saw Shiraishi enter the room, "Oh... Shiraishi is with you."

"How rude of you, Enoki~" Shiraishi grinned.

"ENO-MO-TO!"

"Sounds like Okazaki roped you into another date of some sort." Sasazuka said lightly from his computer.

Kotori nodded a bit before she took off her coat and set it on the coat rack.

"I don't understand why you don't just blow him off..."

"Then I wouldn't get free food." Kotori chuckled before she sat at the couch. "We're not here to talk about my way of getting free stuff, Shiraishi said something new came up about the X-Day cases. It concerns all of us." She stated as she looked at Shiraishi for an explanation.

With all eyes on the profiler, the man grinned, "Oh, yes..." Most may not have noticed, by Kotori could see his smile was a bit... Stronger? It was the best way she could describe it as he lifted up an envelope. "I found this in my office this morning when I came in." He stated as he handed the envelope to Kotori. He watched her examine the object in her hand before she stopped on the seal.

"An Anemone flower..." Kotori whispered as her fingers gently, an unreadable look in her eyes, before she gently lifted the seal, trying to preserve it as she made sure to open the envelope with extra care, and looked inside. She looked at the letter a bit warily before she took it out and looked down at the paper.

"So... It's a letter from Adonis." Sasazuka stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What does it say?"

Kotori unfolded the envelope and read the letter to the other three in the room;

"As part of the countdown to X-Day, a woman will be killed by poison in Shinjuku Garden on December 6th, 00:00." Then a sequence of numbers was on the bottom of the paper. _It looks like a password or something..._ She thought. "There is only one way to save her. You must enter the unlock code given below into the collar the woman is wearing. Furthermore, if the police are notified, we will immediately kill the woman. Even if you are to save the woman, you are not to speak of the collar. We will be monitoring your actions through the collar. Should you violate any of these terms, you will be placing her life in jeopardy. Heed this warning well."

The room was silent as everyone allowed the words that had just left Kotori's lips sink in. There was going to be another murder...

Kotori broke the silence by putting the letter back into the envelope and setting it on the coffee table. She didn't say anything at first as the men stared at her as she laid on the couch. "We have to wait for Yanagi to get here, then we can discuss how we can move forward with this..." She ignored the feeling of someone staring at her as she grabbed a lock of her curly hair and twirled it in her hand.

About an hour had passed before the door opened, "Shiraishi...?"

Kotori looked up from her spot on the couch to look at Yanagi, who was staring at Shiraishi in confusion. "We've been waiting for you to get here, Yanagi." She stated as she slowly sat up.

"Akagawa? You too? What are you both doing here?" Yanagi asked.

The two didn't really answer, as if figuring out how to say the next words, but then Sasazuka spoke up.

"Who'd have thought they would make contact?"

"What do you mean? What happened?" Yanagi asked, now a bit more alert.

Enomoto spoke next, "Nothing actually happened, just..." He trailed off.

"It's be faster if you looked at this." Shiraishi intervened as Kotori handed him the envelope, then he handed it to Yanagi.

Everyone watched in silence as Yanagi opened the already unsealed envelope, the surprise as he looked at the seal, then the urgency in his eyes as he read what the words were on the letter. "This is..." His sentence trailed off as he handed the paper to Sasazuka to look at, who then handed it to Enomoto.

"It's a heads-up from Adonis..." Kotori stated as she looked at the man. "They are giving us the time, place, and means to save this woman from death... Meaning, they want us to find her before that happens. Ultimately that's they're goal... As a whole, it sounds like they're testing us." She added.

Everyone looked at her.

"Wouldn't it make more sense that this is a trap and not them giving us a chance to save someone before they are killed? Or that they're taunting us?" Enomoto asked.

Sasazuka didn't say anything, but looked at Kotori a bit expectantly.

"What makes you say that, Akagawa?" Yanagi asked as he looked at the woman with wonder.

"Yes, exactly what made you come to that conclusion, little birdy?" Shiraishi cooed as he sat on the armrest of the other couch that faced her.

Kotori looked at all of them before she looked at the envelope, "Well for one, we've never given Adonis a reason to taunt us. If anyone should be taunted it's the police, I mean—if their goal is to shame the police, which I doubt. And if that were the case, they wouldn't be instructing us to keep them out of this. If we're all going to be honest, Adonis is as elusive as smoke. They wouldn't need a trap of any sort to kill us or capture us. They could do that now without having to lure us out of this room." She said lightly before looking down at the coffee table, "They are also giving us instructions if we were to save her, indicating that they hope we do. That's the test. They're trying to see if we're capable of doing this. For what I can't really think of at the moment. In any event, they seem to take care not to let these types of details fall into someone's hands unless they wanted it to be that way. They say monitor us, like we're an experiment, which only further supports my theory this is a test. It's only a guess, but I think whoever this woman is, is important to the person who sent us this letter. In what way I'm not sure, but it's what I think." She concluded before her eyes lifted to look up to Yanagi, who was staring at her as he took in her reasoning. They were sound and made a lot of sense given the past actions of Adonis. Her eyes then drifted to Sasazuka, who nodded a bit in understanding and agreement, then Enomoto, who was absolutely surprised for a moment before having that serious expression as he let the information sink in. Then finally, Shiraishi.

A shiver went down her spine as she saw Shiraishi's grin widen, almost like she had done something that went beyond his expectations. And she didn't like it.

In any case, it looked like 4 out of the 5 in the room had all come to the same conclusion in their own thought process.

"… Alright. We all need to meet up around an hour before the time on this letter at Shinjuku Garden." Yanagi stated before he turned to Shiraishi and Kotori, "If you two can make it, it would really help." He stated, though the urgency in his eyes was almost begging them to help.

 _He's desperate to help this woman..._ Kotori thought as she looked at him with a half-smile, "I get a lot of free time, so I'll more than likely be there, but if I'm not, assume the guys dumped work on me last minute." She stated before looking at Shiraishi.

"I actually have something to attend to in the office so I doubt I'll be able to help you." Shiraishi shrugged. "Anyways, I'm not much of a field player."

"Yeah, you're a side character really." Kotori grumbled.

There were no more words shared as they all thought about how the night would transpire.

Would they be able to save this woman before she was killed for some absurd form of justice?

…

11:57 p.m.

" _ **We found the woman. She's safe.**_ "

Kotori gazed at the text message on her phone with light relief before she moved set the last of the files away in the cabinet. She took a deep breath before she thought what would've happened if they hadn't saved that woman. There'd be another X-Day case... Another body to look at... Another family to inform... More suffering...

 _A scream tore into the air and clawed at her ears._

Kotori froze before she fell to her knees. Her eyes stared at the floor, almost blankly, as her mind had gone elsewhere.

Thankfully, however, someone broke her out of her trance before she could go too deep into the rabbit hole.

"Kotori!" A man called out before their hands grabbed onto her shoulders. "Kotori! What's wrong?"

The woman blinked a few times as she regained her sense of self and looked up to meet silver orbs looking down at her with evident concern. "O-Oh... Yuzuru..." She murmured before she shook her head. "I just... I felt dizzy all of a sudden." She tried to assure but obviously she couldn't convince anyone in her state of mind.

"Were you thinking of that again?" Yuzuru Saeki asked.

The man went through training with her cousin, and became good friends with her. So, they met several times, which eventually lead to them going on a few dates... And eventually they became something that wasn't exactly an official relationship, but both treated it that way. Both of them seemed to have a reason for not wanting to put a label on whatever they had, and for Kotori's case. It terrified her. Not having a label, nor the responsibilities that were entailed in a relationship of that sort, was more comfortable for them.

Kotori bit her lip a bit, before eventually nodding to his question. "Yeah..." She whispered softly as she looked back down onto the floor.

"Maybe it's time for you to go home, Kotori... You've been working all day, and you looked really stressed before." He stated as he slowly helped the woman up to her feet.

"Did I? I didn't even notice..." Kotori hummed before she moved away from him a bit and started to gather her things. She knew Saeki could have been as pushy as Okazaki, so she chose to just do as he suggested. Plus, going home and resting sounded pretty good to her at the moment.

"I'll walk you to the entrance at least." He smiled as he grabbed her bag and walked with her to the main entrance to the building. Since there weren't many people in the building, much less in the halls, Saeki grabbed her hand with his free one and laced their fingers together.

 _His hand is warm..._ Kotori thought as she let herself relax at the action. Small affectionate gestures like that were what she enjoyed. She didn't need someone to give her their heart, she was too afraid anyways, so instead—she just found someone who could give her that affection and attention when she needed or wanted it, without it being an obligation.

As they headed for the entrance, they'd have to stop by SRCPO to do so. That was where Ichika worked.

Kotori and Saeki moved towards her cousin, a smile on their faces, before Saeki cooed, "Hoshino~"

"Wah!?"

"Woah!"

Kotori and Saeki jumped back a bit, just as Ichika had, and looked thoroughly taken back by the outburst.

"A-Ah... Saeki, Kotori..." Ichiki looked relieved for a moment then turned to her screen, frantically closing something. That action didn't go unnoticed by Kotori, but she decided against voicing the observation. She could just ask her later. Ichiki turned back to the pair with a weary smiled, "You're both still here?"

"Are we not supposed to be? There was an urgent call earlier, so I got sent out to respond to it. So now I have to write another report. I've been at work this whole time. But Kotori said she was leaving so I decided to walk the lady out at the very least." Saeki smiled lightly.

"My coworkers dumped all their stuff they didn't want to file. I just finished so I'm heading home right now." Kotori explained with a chuckle.

"Really? Long day, huh?" Ichika asked with a look of pity.

 _Ichika feels so bad for us... Hehe._

"Yeah... Speaking of which, you're still here, too. I thought you left a long time ago..." Saeki pointed out.

"I got caught up in something, too... But it wasn't anything important. I need to write a report on what happened. So, I came back to the station." Ichika sighed lightly, though looked a bit on edge.

 _Did something happen?_

Kotori lifted a brow a bit before she turned to Saeki.

"Sounds like a rough day all around... Sure are a lot of calls today, don't you think? Well, I won't keep you any further. I just thought to say hi, and let Kotori say bye to her cousin before she left." He smiled.

"You two aren't bothering me at all. You actually cheered me up a bit." Ichika smiled happily.

"Well, that's nice of you to say. But, if late nights are taking a toll on you, why not ask Mochida to let you off earlier?" Saeki suggested.

The conversation dragged out a bit, but Kotori thought it was such a nice, mundane thing. It brought her a little more at ease. She gently squeezed the man's hand. His jovial manner always brought her at ease. By the time they left, Ichika and Saeki had been in a mock fight about their weight.

Saeki and Kotori were finally at the Entrance to Shinjuku station and they stood by the door for a bit.

"You should get a lot of rest, Kotori. You cause a lot of concern if you were to collapse at a scene or at work again." Saeki whispered as he looked down at the woman. His thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand. "I'd be very worried too. It's bad for my heart... I don't want to see you with that suffering look on your face..." He stated lightly.

"I know I know..." Kotori murmured before she smiled up at the man. "I'll be more careful now. Thanks for walking me out, Yuzuru." She smiled sheepishly, "You should get back to finish that report." She chuckled before leaning up on her toes.

Saeki smiled himself before he leaned down and met her lips with his own. It was a soft kiss, warm. It only lasted a few seconds before the two pulled away. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"All rested." Kotori smiled before she pulled away from him a bit reluctantly and made her way to her apartment.

By the time she got home, it was 2:00 a.m. and she was absolutely exhausted. As soon as she got into her bed, she passed out beneath her blankets.

* * *

 **Thank you for taking the time to read this fanfiction! I hope you all enjoyed it! Please Follow, Favorite, and Review! Looking forward to the feed back and such~**

 **Love,**

 **Chess.**


	2. Adonis Victim

_"NO!"_

 _"LEAVE HER ALONE!"_

 _"HELP ME!"_

 _~/~/~_

 **Thruuuuuuuummmm. Thruuuuuuummmm.**

Kotori's nightmare was interrupted, somehow but thankfully, by the sound of the vibration coming from her phone. The woman was a light sleeper, but she never thought that a vibration would wake her up. Groggily, Kotori reached out and unplugged her phone from the charger before she answered the call and placed the phone at her ear.

"Speak and maybe you'll be heard..." She grumbled softly.

 **"Oh, did I wake you up?"** Came the voice from the other side of the phone.

Kotori groaned a bit before she looked at the caller ID on her phone then turned onto her back, "Morning Yanagi, don't worry about it. Was there something that you needed?"

 **"We're going to bring the woman in to speak with all of us, do you think you can come in really quick?"** Yanagi asked, **"But if you worked late you can stay home to sleep. I could have Shiraishi bring you up to speed later."**

"Ahhh..." Kotori already started to get up from bed as she glanced at her bedside clock, "I'll just go, I'd rather not have Shiraishi talk directly to me if I can help it." She murmured, getting up from her bed and walking to her closet. "I'll be there in an hour so, I'll see you soon." She stated before hanging up.

Kotori sent a quick text to her superior so she could have the day off instead of the next day before she set her phone to the side. _Might as well..._ She thought as she changed into a beige colored wool dress that folded over and fell off her shoulders. She didn't have the time or patience to put a full outfit (Shirt, pants/shorts/skirt, shoes, etc.) together, so, putting on a simple dress was much more comfortable and quicker. She slipped on some black thigh high socks before she went to the closet to grab her smoky green colored ankle boots.

She stopped by the mirror to fix her hair up into a lazily done bone which gave her a sultry look, "I'm diggin' it today." She whispered with a small chuckle before her eyes landed on the necklace that hung around her neck. A gold necklace with what looked like a golden nightingale with a small peace of a purple Hyacinth in it's beak. Of course it was small to fit the size of the small bird, but she could not mistake the plant.

The woman bit her lip as she gazed at the necklace before she shook her head and rushed to grab her phone, keys and purse with more of her personal items, and put on her boots at the door. Once she made sure she had all that she needed, she slipped on her black leather jacket then left her apartment. Immediately as she got outside, she checked her messages and emails.

Thankfully Ichika spent the night at the station so she didn't have to go walk her to work before going to the office, and Kazuki had stayed home that night as well. _He must've enjoyed the night without his sister... I really wish they'd work things out... and soon._ She thought.

She remembered when she was much younger that the two siblings used to be very close... But it wasn't until Ichika left that their relationship became a little—shitty. It was like every time Kazuki saw his sister, he'd be in a bad mood. Kotori doubted Ichika really did anything to Kazuki to hurt him, but whatever she had done when Kotori wasn't around was beyond her. All she knew was that Ichika DID something, and it had severely affected her relationship with her little brother.

A sigh left Kotori's lips before she stopped at the light.

"I just want them to go back to the way they were before..." She whispered softly, her eyes looking up towards the sky. _I don't want the people I care about to experience that regret or pain... That suffering..._ She thought gently before she started to walk across the street since the light changed.

Kotori stopped for a moment on the sidewalk when her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. Taking it out, the woman looked at the phone for a moment before she smiled, opening up a text.

" _ **Good morning. Did you sleep well? Did you sleep at all?**_ "

It was a message from Saeki. The woman felt a more at ease by the text as she continued to walk, heading for Yanagi's "Detective Agency".

" _ **It was alright. How about you? Did you ever get home?**_ " She replied back before turning off her phone screen and thinking about the man she had some fuckbuddy relationship with. She had various issues with herself and with others, one of them being centered around commitment and labels. Saeki understood that, being that he had the same issues. It relieved her to know someone else could understand her in that way.

Another buzz.

" _ **Yeah, I ended up going home a bit after you did.**_ _ **∩(**_ _ **︶▽︶**_ _ **)∩ I took a long, nice bath too~**_ " He replied.

Kotori found herself laughing at the face he sent before she replied, " _ **I bet you fell asleep in the bathtub or something**_ _ **(**_ _ **ω**_ _ **; )**_ "

She wasn't even surprised when she got a text back almost immediately, " _ **I DID NO SUCH THING THANK YOU**_ **-`д´-** "

Now she had to cover her mouth a bit to muffle the otherwise loud laugh that threatened to catch the attention of those around her. " _ **Suuuuure you didn't. Anyways, I have to go in a bit. If you want you can stop by my place after work? Or let's have lunch? I got the day off since I needed to do stuff today**_." She was enjoying their conversation but she didn't want to be rude to Yanagi and the others (Shiraishi excluded) by texting when they were going through something relatively important. Kotori found herself already nearing the building, so she stopped by the entrance for his response.

" _ **Oh yeah sure, I'd be happy to have lunch with you~ Be safe out there in the wild! Text me when you get the chance, love.**_ " Was his reply.

Kotori sighed a bit relieved before she put away her phone. _Now I'll just tell Okazaki that instead of lunch today we'll have breakfast. I didn't even have enough time to eat before leaving. So, it works out._ She thought as she headed into the building and up the stairs. As she neared their door she could already hear the men's familiar voices. _I hope I'm not too late, otherwise I'll never hear the end of it from Shiraishi..._ She thought with a frown, her legs moving a bit faster before she opened the door.

"Oh, you made it." Yanagi stated.

"Sorry I'm late." Kotori stated as she closed the door behind her then followed Yanagi's gaze as he was about to introduce the woman they saved. But as soon as Kotori's icey blues met light green orbs filled with surprise, Kotori felt her heart drop to the floor and her words to catch in her throat.

"Ko-Kotori?!"

"… I-Ichi... ka..." Kotori murmured in absolute horror as her eyes widened on her family members form. _Ichika's the one Adonis targeted!?_ She thought, her body trembling a bit as the new information began to sink in. _This has to be some joke._

"… Oh...? Looks like the little bird knows the unfortunate soul." Shiraishi grinned a bit, watching the scene unfold.

Kotori felt sick to her stomach as she dropped her purse and phone to the floor. _This has to be a joke..._ But the men could have never known about Ichika's relationship to her. Yanagi wouldn't allow that kind of prank anyways, but just this once—she hoped this was a cruel joke. But her eyes caught sight of the collar around Ichika's neck. _Ah... This isn't some joke... Why? Why Ichika?_ She thought desperately. It was like she had stopped breathing. Her words lost and her throat became dry.

"Akagawa, are you alright? Do you know her?" Yanagi asked, a rather dumb question, but she knew he was trying his best to keep her calm.

"How do you know her, Akagawa." Sasazuka asked firmly as he looked at the woman he knew a bit longer than he did the knew female in the room. He expected an answer, per usual, but unfortunately, he'd have to wait till the two got over their shock.

Kotori pressed her back to the door before a million thoughts began to fill her head. Questions she wanted answers to.

"Akagawa." Yanagi finally spoke up, standing from his seat on the couch and walking over to Kotori. He set a hand on her shoulder while the other gently made her look at him. "Kotori Akagawa. You need to compose yourself." He stated, attempting to snap the woman out of her trance-like state of shock. This was the last thing he needed.

Kotori blinked up at the man currently in front of her before she stepped away from him and closed her eyes. All her thoughts stopping, slowly regaining her composure. _He's right... Breathe... I need to breathe._ Kotori took several, long and deep breaths before eventually she opened her eyes and looked at Yanagi thankfully.

The man nodded a bit before he went back to his seat with a small sigh. "How do you know each other?" He repeated, though his question rephrased so either woman could answer.

Kotori was the one who spoke up, "Ichika's... My cousin." She murmured lightly before she turned to Yanagi and glanced at Sasazuka.

"I see... So this strikes home for you..." Yanagi murmured as his head nodded a bit in understanding. It seemed as if he now understood why she reacted the way she did upon seeing Ichika. He was sure someone else would've had a similar reaction if they just found out the poor soul that's life was hanging in the balance was their very own blood. "She's not in danger at the moment, so do you mind if you sat down for this, Akagawa?" Yanagi asked as he gestured her to sit down beside him, in front of Ichika.

Kotori nodded as she slipped off her jacket and set it on the rack before picking up her dropped belongings and walked to the couch. Once she sat down, much more composed than before, she gave Ichika a reassuring smile. As reassuring as she could be, "They won't bite... Maybe Sasazuka, and Shiraishi, but other than that you'll be fine..." She promised. She then looked to Yanagi so he could continue where he left off.

Yanagi nodded to her a bit before he looked back to Ichika, "Our pursuit of the X-Day incidents is important, but we should also look at that collar of yours." He continued exactly where he left off before the small scene between Kotori and Ichika transpired. "Hoshino, Even though it was unintentional on your part, that collar's a great lead on the criminals."

"I say we should make use of whatever we have." Sasazuka piped up.

"I'm also sure that you aren't going to be able to relax until we do something about it." Yanagi added.

Ichika looked at Kotori a bit worriedly before her gaze turned to Yanagi, "That's true..." She seemed to relax after that, even if obviously the groups intentions and interests, as a whole, was on the collar and the connection she had with Adonis, she looked like she was relieved at least two people were also looking out for her well-being. "But if you're going to examine the collar-"

 **I need to mention something...**

Everyone in the room froze as they all looked at the collar around Kotori's cousin's neck. Ichika simply looked terrified just hearing the voice that came from the damn thing.

 **It is futile to attempt to remove the collar. If you insist on trying, we cannot guarantee her safety. You are free to examine it, but if you do anything to inconvenience us, you will also be putting her life in jeopardy.**

Kotori felt her heart stop once again, her eyes widening as she gripped the edge of her sweater. _Ichika... Her life... could... disappear..._ She found herself subtly trembling once more. But not with fear, instead—anger.

 **Please investigate the X-Day incidents. Once you learn the truth, I'm sure you will exact your form of justice. You will learn whether or not you believe it is right to oppose our will.**

After that, the whole room was silent for a few minutes. No one said a word as they processed that possibly the leader of Adonis had just spoken to them through the collar.

"So... Was that them just now? A warning, or a threat, one might say?" Enomoto asked cautiously.

"...They bothered to wait until we'd all gathered. They sure crave the spotlight." Shiraishi cooed as his eyes stayed glued to the collar.

Immediately Kotori moved from the couch to Ichika's side and grabbed her hand. The woman must have been frightened. "Ichika, are you alright?" She asked softly, looking at her cousin with obvious worry. She had no idea what she might've been going through, but all she wanted was to protect those she loved.

Ichika relaxed at Kotori's touch, looking to her cousin, "Y-Yes... Sorry... The criminals are... uh, monitoring everything about me... through the collar..." She murmured before looking to everyone in the room.

"Well, working together with them is definitely off the table. Even though we all quit, we were cops once, right?" Enomoto said. An uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.

Ichika looked up immediately, "All of you were police...? I did verify Yanagi was a former officer. And I know Kotori and Shiraishi are still in the force... Enomoto and Sasazuka... Were you two also police officers?" She asked.

"Um, well..." Enomoto trailed off.

"Dumbass. Should I just sew your mouth shut?" Sasazuka grumbled with his usually annoyed expression and tone to match.

Enomoto fumbled with his sentence before he glared at the other male, "My tongue just slipped! Just once!"

"So it's true then?" Ichika asked.

That's when Enomoto looked to Yanagi for help. The sight was very routine in a way for Kotori so she found herself relaxing as she watched. Enomoto seemed to treat Yanagi like the older, protective brother of sorts, always needing him to help him when he was in trouble.

"We can't hide it, can we? All she has to do is look us up at the station." Yanagi started before he turned to Ichika, "Right... We should get this over with. You two introduce yourselves to Hoshino. After all, we're probably going to be seeing her a lot more often now."

"Gah... R-Roger that..." Enomoto grumbled, defeatedly. With a sigh and a cough, the man cleared his throat and then turned to Ichika, taking a deep breath.

 _Oh here we go..._

"Perk up your ears and listen well! Formerly assigned to Field Ops Team 2, before you stands a kabukimono rivaling Keiji Maeda! The crooks I've arrested are without number! A shining silver samurai, worth 1000 cops! A paragon, standing alone 'neath the stars! That is I, Mineo Enomoto! Don't you forget it, rookie!" The man hollered at the top of his lungs, or something very close, as he stood off to the side of Ichika and Kotori.

Shiraishi let out a small laugh before he grinned at Ichika, "Hey, you don't need to humor him. I don't know if he's got a talent or a condition, but he's a subject I like to observe at a distance." He stated whimsically.

"Uh... right..." Ichika murmured softly.

"Don't mind him, Hoshino. That's just how Enomoto hides his nerves. He's just a bit of an awkward guy." Yanagi said, trying to save Enomoto.

"Paragon? Paragon of nincompoops, more like." Sasazuka sighed.

Kotori shared the sigh as she closed her eyes, "To think we're the same age, it's kind of insulting to have anything in common with you, even if it's just my age." She murmured before looking to him. "Just goes to show that some people don't grow up once they graduate high school."

"Oh, yeah!? I will not tolerate any further slights! Anyway, it's your turn, Takeru." Enomoto grinned.

Sasazuka was much more appropriate than Enomoto with his introduction, "I was in the Cyber Crimes Division. Takeru Sasazuka. That's all."

Kotori laced her fingers with Ichika's as she found herself much more relaxed than before. The normalcy, to an extent, of the situation unfolding before her gave her a sense of security.

But then Ichika's question made the air tense up a bit.

"Is the reason you all quit the force... because you questioned the righteousness of the police like the letter mentioned?"

The two who just introduced themselves averted their eyes, making it plain to see that they didn't want to talk about their individual reasons. So, Yanagi maned up, "It's true that we all quit for our own individual reasons. I... I couldn't follow the department's policy. I wouldn't be able to solve the case as a police officer. So I left, and I've continued to pursue it on my own."

"I see." Ichika nodded.

"Hey, setting aside you three for a moment, do you think the bad guys included me and the little bird when they were talking about joining hands?" Shiraishi suddenly piped up, his tone as flippant as he always was, handing the note to Kotori.

Kotori scanned through the note and looked to Yanagi, having a silent conversation before they both nodded to each other, and she set the note back down onto the table.

"Shiraishi... Kotori... You both still work with the police, so how did you know about all this? If the messages are to be trusted, I'll be killed if the police know about this..." Ichika murmured as Kotori felt her cousin beginning to tense up again.

Shiraishi lifted a hand to gently scratch his head before he spoke, "Somehow, the first letter—the one that said you would die—was slipped into some case files that I was handling." He explained.

"WHAT!?" Ichika responded.

"They were documents I got from Section 1, but they were addressed to a "detective agency". So, I, as a member of this agency, took it to the others, and then we found you." Shiraishi added as he looked to the two women across from him. "A woman would die if the police found out, right? Obviously I couldn't call it in." He hummed, amused by the situation.

Kotori glared at Shiraishi for a moment before she turned to Ichika, "… They know you, so they probably know we're family. Obviously, I wouldn't call it in..."

"The second letter you just saw was left on the table in this office after we found you at Shinjuku Garden."

Kotori nodded a bit as she was off-handedly informed about when the second letter was found. The gears in her head began to turn. If the culprit set the letter after they confirmed Ichika's life was spared, that meant either he had someone there to confirm it for him, who would send him a text or a signal of some sort so he could plant it, or he had a tracker in the collar.

"Well? Lady who's been turned into a pet cat. Can we examine your collar?" Sasazuka asked.

"What?" Ichika looked to him, her attention moving to the light blue haired male.

Kotori glared at Sasazuka, "…"

"Sasazuka." Yanagi started.

"N-Now hold on a second. Why are you calling me a pet cat?" Ichika piped up, stumbling a bit as she faced the intimidating aura of Takeru Sasazuka.

"can't you see it? There's a picture of a cat on your collar." Sasazuka stated.

"What!"

"Also, one of the standard X-Day calling cards, a coin, was left at the site where you went down." Yanagi added, his eyes closed as he thought of something. "The coins have the same cat motif as your collar, with anemone flowers in the back."

Enomoto joined in on the conversation, "It's the symbol of the terrorist group claiming responsibility for X-Day... Adonis. You've probably seen it before."

"I had Shiraishi examine it back at the station. It's the same as the coins that have been left at the other crime scenes." Yanagi added.

Shiraishi looked towards the wall lazily, "But there wasn't a Roman numeral counting down to X-Day this time. If this was to be the December incident, then there should have been a "I" written there."

"If it was just the collar, we could possibly dismiss this as a copycat crime, but that coin means-"

"The perpetrator is related to the X-Day cases, without a doubt." Sasazuka interrupted Enomoto.

Which resulted in the beginnings of an argument. Kotori rolled her eyes a bit at the two before she got up and walked over to the wall to lean against. Her back was hurting.

"So, the collar, can we see it?" Sasazuka pressed. "The voice from the collar said that we were free to examine it." He added, irritably.

Enomoto awkwardly piped back into the conversation, "No, but isn't that a bad idea? They also said they'd kill her if we caused any trouble for them... On top of that, I doubt Akagawa would want to weigh the odds on her cousins life."

"They'll kill her if we try to take it off. But we're free to examine it. There's obviously a difference, idiot."

"So what does that mean?"

"It's a test. They're daring us to figure out what we can." Sasazuka clarified.

"I think the risk is too great. We don't understand how they think yet, so we shouldn't take any unnecessary risks." Yanagi stated as he glanced at Kotori, who seemed to be growing agitated.

Sasazuka sighed, "I won't be cracking anything. We can at least check for the type of EM waves coming off the collar. It wouldn't hurt to see just what kind of countermeasures they've built into it."

"This is someone's life, Sasazuka. If you fuck up at any point, you could get her killed." Kotori growled.

The man rolled his eyes, "You're biased to the situation so your opinion is worth nothing to me. Control your emotions then you can talk to me about what you think." He stated before he turned to Yanagi. "If you say to leave it be, I will. We can just go back to pursuing the cases."

Yanagi only sighed, he thought about his next words before he turned to Ichika, "… Hoshino, you can trust Sasazuka. Do you want to let him take a look?"

"It's... not dangerous is it?" Ichika asked.

"The criminals' goal isn't to kill you. You'll be ok as long as we obey their terms. Do you understand?" Yanagi clarified.

Ichika nodded.

"They said we were free to examine the collar. As Sasazuka said, they're sure we won't find them. But we should at least get a sense of its general structure, because I think it'll be important. I won't say that this is without risk. It's your life at stake, so we won't force you." The man added.

"Make up your mind. I'll wait ten seconds." Sasazuka stated seriously. "Make me wait any longer and I'll decide for you."

"That's the perfect amount of time for me to walk over there and shove my foot up your ass, brat." Kotori hissed.

"Looks like the little bird is showing off her talons a bit." Shiraishi grinned as he watched Kotori's actions and listened intently to her words. "That's a first."

Yanagi looked at Kotori, "… Akagawa, please calm down."

Kotori looked to Yanagi a bit upset before she huffed and turned away from him.

"I understand your concern and your instinct to protect your family, but now is not the time to be getting upset and aggressive." He stated, trying to somewhat soothe the woman that was seething with some sort of criminal intent at Sasazuka.

Kotori understood what he was saying, but that didn't mean she was okay with what was happening.

"Please do it, Sasazuka. And... Please don't provoke them." Ichika murmured before she looked to Kotori, with what was possibly the best reassured expression she could muster given the situation.

Kotori appreciated the effort.

"Too late, ten seconds was up a while ago."

"Wow, man. You've never waited for anyone..." Enomoto cooed in surprise.

Shiraishi grinned, "A life is on the line, after all."

"Please, Sasazuka." Yanagi said softly.

"Got it."

But it seemed Kotori finally had enough, "I'm going to get some fresh air..." She stated, moving away from the wall and going out the door. She quickly grabbed her phone and headed for the roof, forgetting her coat, let alone to close the door. She really needed a moment to actually breathe and to collect herself. Being in the room with all the guys, who clearly had their priorities straight, was not helping her calm the hell down. Any second longer and she feared she might've punched Sasazuka if he said another word.

 _This is not the time to react impulsively... I have to get myself together..._ She thought lightly as she got up to the roof and decided to sit on one of the chairs that was accompanied by a table and two more chairs. Kotori took a deep breath as she leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes.

 _Obviously, Adonis' goal isn't to kill Ichika, it's to show her and the rest of us their goal from their point of view. To get us to understand and question our own definition of justice._ She thought, playing with her necklace with a hand. _They know Ichika, so, it's someone she's met... But that doesn't narrow the list helpfully. But this person knows her, her work, family, so they know that I'd do anything to keep her safe._

 **Thruuuuuuummmm. Thruuuuuummm.**

Kotori's train of thought, once again was interrupted by the vibration coming from her phone. "Hm?" The woman looked at the caller ID; **Unknown Number.** With a raised eyebrow, the female slowly answered it before putting it to her ear, "Hello? This is Kotori Akagawa."

" **Knowing your past, I'm assuming you left the room to collect your thoughts.** "

 _What-_

But confusion easily turned to anger and recognition. "Adonis..." _It's not hard to find my number, it must have been trivial compared to finding background history on all the people at the office._ "What are you playing at?"

" **I just want to make sure you realize, if those men hinder us in the slightest, your cousin's life will be in a dangerous position, however unfortunate that would be for us. We would appreciate it if you make sure that they do nothing to jeopardize her life and our experiment.** "

Kotori took a deep breath, "… I will never forgive you... if you hurt... Ichika." She growled. Her nails dug into her hand so harshly she already began to draw blood. "I'll track you down and kill you myself."

" **We don't wish for Ichika Hoshino to get hurt, either. And we're aware the last thing you want is another situation like Sumire's.** "

The moment the person on the other end said that name, Kotori felt her breath sharpen and her heartbeat picking up. Her throat drying up again. Tightening. Her eyes were wide and her body trembled with something between anger and fear. _Sumire..._

" **You can tell the others of this conversation, however, that is all up to you... We're not sure if you've told them why you're already so torn about going against us. Or about Sumire Mujitsu.** "

"Shut up..." Kotori whispered, weakly. _Stop talking... Please..._

" **This experiment is not just on your cousin, Kotori Akagawa. This is an experiment on you as well. We hope in the end, you'll find the answer you've been looking for.** " And with that, the line hung up.

Kotori set the phone down on the table before she set her non-bloodied hand on the arm rest, trying to get herself to stand. _How do they know about Sumire?_ She thought frantically before she pushed away from the table and walked over to the edge of the building. _They know... About her... Think... Who...!?_

"Hm?"

Kotori sharply turned at the sound of another person's voice and gripped the railing tightly. "..."

"Has your head not cooled down yet? It's a lot to process. Your cousin's life being in jeopardy and all." Shiraishi grinned as he looked upon the evidently troubled female. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright?" He chuckled.

"I'm not in the mood for your bullshit, Shiraishi." Kotori grumbled as she turned away from him and leaned against the railing. "What do you want? Here to laugh at me or something?" She asked as she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the railing. Her head had not cooled down, not at all. At this rate she would die from the anger boiling up.

"No, not at all~" Shiraishi cooed as he walked over to the female, "I'm just here to make sure my fellow officer isn't about to jump off the roof."

"Shove it." Kotori spat before shutting her eyes. _Sumire..._

The name wasn't one she was prepared to hear for a long while. She hadn't told anyone about her, ever. Not her parents, Ichika or even Saeki. Yet, her name was uttered to her as a threat, and it felt like her head was spinning as those horrible memories tried to break their way into her mind once again. _The incident concerning Sumire wasn't even on the news and probably was never even documented, so how the hell..._

"Akagawa?"

Kotori opened her eyes and lifted her head to slowly look up at the very tall man known to be an inconsiderate ass. Her hair fell a bit into her face but at the moment she hardly minded it, "What...?" She murmured as if a bit defeated.

Shiraishi continued to smirk down at her before he crouched to her level and said, "You don't look like yourself when you have that expression. You look completely lost and defeated. A polar opposite to your calm and collected expression. It's almost unnerving to see you so down, almost." He grinned before he reached out and gently grabbed her chin, "I'd love to see what other emotions the usually so guarded and witty detective has."

The woman found herself punching the man's chest harshly and stood to her feet. "Too bad I don't like being around you, so you'd hardly get the chance to see anything of the sort." She growled with irritation before she took a deep breath. _Wow... I feel a lot better._ She thought as she gathered her things. "Now you know not to touch a woman without permission, catnip-for-brains." She stated, heading back towards the others.

Shiraishi coughed from the harsh punch but otherwise seemed unfazed from his position on the floor. "… So aggressive..." He murmured before he got to his feet, a bit unbalanced at first.

By the time she got back to the room, Sasazuka seemed to have finished checking the collar and they had moved on to a different topic at hand.

"Sasazuka's people skills need some work. But his skills are sound. Just let it slide." Yanagi sighed in defeat, knowing no one was really equipped to make Sasazuka learn how to be nice to another human being.

Kotori set her stuff down just as Shiraishi came back in the room behind her. She frowned knowing Sasazuka probably said something insensitive again and simply walked back to her cousin and sat beside her on the armrest.

"I'll go back to investigating the August case. Even the perps are asking us to." Sasazuka piped up with an annoyed air around him. _But that's all the time._

"… Is everybody here investigating the X-Day incidents? But how?" Ichika asked a bit confused.

"God, just shut up already. Use your brain for once, you stupid cat." Sasazuka growled with irritation.

"What the-! What the hell was that for?!" Ichika exclaimed with equal irritation.

Kotori shot a glare at Sasazuka but didn't say much since Yanagi would advise against it.

"When your emotions run high, you really do resemble a cat with its fur on end." Shiraishi mused happily from his place on the armrest across from Kotori. "Akagawa is a cat too sometimes. She's like the really mean cats though, the strays. Oddly it causes me to want to pick on her."

"I'll shoot you." Kotori hissed.

"Haha! Is that what we're calling her now?" Enomoto laughed.

"No, we are not." Kotori stated firmly. "Sasazuka, shut up. Shiraishi, don't encourage it unless you're ready to lose your manhood."

The room filled with silence for a few minutes before Yanagi spoke up, "Each of us are investigating different cases, each of them are X-Day cases. I'm researching the incidents as a whole. Enomoto is on April and May, Akagawa is on June and July, Sasazuka is on August as he mentioned, and Shiraishi is on September and October." He explained as he looked at Ichika with a calm expression, trying to calm her nerves.

"June and July? June's case is practically impossible to decipher with all those variable, isn't it? No DNA was on sight, no fingerprints, nothing but the explosive residue. And since there was a school festival recently before the explosion, it's impossible to pinpoint a suspect. And July's suspect is already caught, isn't he?" Ichika asked, looking up to her cousin. "They're totally unrelated too." She frowned in confusion before turning to Yanagi, "September and October too. I thought the September suspect died, and nothing actually happened in October, did it?"

"Do you really think that nothing happened in October despite all their talk of a countdown? There's something about that." Shiraishi intervened, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.

"I'm basically just reviewing July's suspect... June is iffy to me and I already have a few suspects that would have a motive. When I'm not doing that, I'm helping out the others with field work they can't do." Kotori stated softly, more collected and calm.

"But, you have to work on the cases that you've been assigned by the police department, don't you?" Ichika asked, looking between the two other present cops.

Shiraishi grinned happily, "Oh, I do my job. I do all the work I'm given, that is. Out here, there's no red tape, so I'm free to investigate whatever I want." He shrugged.

"… Are you really allowed to do that as a police employee?" Ichika asked.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm not a police employee here. I'm one of Yanagi's precious team members. Same goes for Akagawa." Shiraishi smirked.

Yanagi cringed, "Stop saying precious. It's creepy.

Shiraishi laughed, "Ahaha! Come on now, don't be a stranger!"

Kotori rolled her eyes before she flicked a pen at the man, "Shut up you weirdo." She reprimanded before looking to Yanagi, "I don't do much besides X-Day anyways, so me looking over the cases aren't something suspicious while I'm at the desk. That's where my team really has me since it's overrun by men." She huffed.

After a minute or so, Shiraishi glanced at Kotori then to Ichika at her side, "You are really easy to read. Nothing like your cousin at all~ Are you suspecting me now?~" He cooed with a whimsical expression on his face, like he was having fun.

"Shiraishi, you're taking an awful lot of pleasure in my reactions." Ichika stated, "Why wouldn't I be suspicious of you?" She asked, stating a perfectly valid point.

"Very true, and if I was with the criminals... You might have forced me to hit this trigger I was hiding to kill you right now." Shiraishi's eyes narrowed on the female and Kotori felt her cousin flinch, which caused her to sigh.

 _He's such an ass._

"Stop teasing her, Shiraishi. Hoshino isn't a toy for you to play with." Yanagi intervened with a groan. Honestly, dealing with Shiraishi was exhausting on it's own.

"Well you say that..." Shiraishi hummed, "But she's just so much fun to scare." He smirked. "Anyway, it would be easy to suspect me, however..." He trailed off as he looked to Kotori, who was looking back at him with slight confusion. "Nevermind, that's for another time."

Kotori got up and walked over to Shiraishi before aiming to punch him. This time Shiraishi was prepared and caught the punch. "You look scary with such a calm expression, trying to hit me."

With a sigh, Yanagi brought the attention back to him. "This is all we can tell you for now. We'll investigate all the incidents... What are you going to do?" They all turned to Ichika now, as the question was something they needed to know. "We can't rule out the possibility that the criminals will contact you again. You shouldn't travel alone, if possible-"

But the man as interrupted by the window abruptly opening.

"Oh, a guest? How unusual?" Okazaki's form appeared coming in through the window. Kotori sighed deeply.

 _He's as odd as ever._

Kotori could sense her cousin's surprise but everyone else was used to Okazaki's blatant disregard for physics, let alone logic.

"Not again!" Enomoto groaned.

Yanagi sighed, "Trespassing is illegal, you know."

"..uhh... erm.." Ichika looked thoroughly confused.

"Heh, sorry for surprising you like that." Okazaki smiled, slipping into the room and standing to his feet.

"I-Is this man a part of your team?" Ichika asked.

 _Obviously, he isn't with how we all reacted, even Yanagi said he was trespassing... Come on Ichika. You're giving Sasazuka reasons to pick at you._ Kotori groaned as everyone gave her complicated looks.

"If you guys have guests, should I come back later?" Okazaki asked as he walked to Yanagi a bit.

"I'd appreciate that. Also, and I tell you this every time, use the door if you're coming over." Yanagi stated with exasperation.

"But sometimes it's closed, and I can't always get in." Okazaki smiled.

Kotori couldn't help but chuckle, the man was always pushy. "Okazaki, today isn't the best time." She piped up before she walked over to the SP, taking his hand, "By the way, after this, let's get breakfast today. I don't have work today and I have plans for lunch I completely forgot." She smiled.

Okazaki seemed elated to hear that before he nodded, "Okay~ I'll wait for you downstairs." He smiled back before politely excusing himself and exiting the room through the door.

"Every time. You gotta admit, that guy's sharp." Enomoto sighed.

"That guy's TOO much of a ghost. I wonder if he even actually left..." Sasazuka groaned as he looked towards the door suspiciously before he got up to go check. The last thing they needed was have Okazaki hear about the collar or anything else they were doing.

"You're oddly good at dealing with him, Akagawa." Enomoto murmured.

Kotori shrugged.

"That guy works in the Secruity Police Division at HQ. He's covering us while we investigate. His name is Kei Okazaki." Yanagi explained, trying to clear up the confusion.

Ichika tilted her head in confusion, "Huh... Covering you? The police are giving you protection while you freelance?" She asked.

"Well, that's what Okazaki claims, but who can really know if what he's saying is the truth?" Shiraishi shrugged.

"As for why an SP officer has been attached to us, we don't know what the police's intentions are..." Yanagi continued. "Since we have no idea what the police's intentions are, we can't let Kei Okazaki know about you. If he learns about the collar, it'll be bad. The criminals told us not to tell the police, so we can't complicate things by telling them." He stated before he glanced at Kotori, who was a bit tenser than before.

Ichika only nodded as she took in the information. "Okay..."

"Anyways, do you have an answer to my question?"

Ichika jumped a bit as if realizing something before she looked down in thought. It was a couple of moments before she glanced at Kotori then to Yanagi then spoke, "Could I have a little bit of time to think about it?" She asked.

Everyone glanced at Kotori for a second before Yanagi nodded to Ichika, "All right. It would be unreasonable of me to press you for a decision now, given the situation. You might be hesitant to work with us, having just met most of us. I don't want to let you die." He admitted before he sighed deeply, "I'm not a policeman anymore, but I didn't just abandon the ideals I had back when I was."

Ichika began miling, "Thank you... A lot has happened, so I'm really confused... But I'll collect myself and think about it." She stated as convincingly as she could.

Yanagi smiled back, "Okay."

"Sooo, for now... We need to be able to contact you somehow, right?" Enomoto asked.

"Ahh, right..." Ichika nodded. "I'll be back tonight, then." She proposed before she began to exchange phone numbers with everyone, then left.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Please review and tell me what you think about this, I would love to hear from you. Favorite and Follow as well if you want to keep up with the updates and such, I'd appreciate it. Love you all.**

 **Love,**

 **Chess**


	3. Long Day

Ichika left and for a second everything was silent and still.

"I need some air." Sasazuka stated as he grabbed his coat and already left the room before anyone could question him.

"I don't like how he left right after Ichika." Kotori whispered before she began to gather her things, having needed to meet with Okazaki for breakfast. "... I should get going." She added before looking at Yanagi.

Yanagi nodded a bit before he stood up, "... Akagawa." He started, walking over to the woman and standing between her and the exit. "I need your help." He murmured.

Kotori looked at him a bit perplexed at first before she fixed her purse strap on her shoulder, "With what exactly?" She asked lightly.

"... Hoshino is our best lead on the X-Day cases... And even with you here, she said she needed time to think. I need your help in assuring that she comes back to help us." Yanagi explained as he glanced between her and the door. "... She is your cousin, you know her better than anyone here... She feels safe with you, and you know her best bet-"

"-Is here with the rest of us. I'm aware." Kotori looked down. Her cousin was a good cop, there was no question there, however, her cousin wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box. She wasn't as observant as herself or the other men here. Even Enomoto was more observant than Ichika, and that said something. "... I'll talk to her... But for now I'll let her breathe. I still have things to do before then, so I'll get her later, I'll convince her... I want her to be safe... I want all of this to be over."

Yanagi looked at her for a long time before he gently patted her shoulder, "Thank you... I know this must be hard on you."

Kotori gripped her purse strap before nodding, "Yeah... But I can't lose my composure again... We're going to save her... and we're going to shut down Adonis." She stated firmly before she set a hand over Yanagi's. "... Thanks for the support." She chuckled before moving past him and leaving to go downstairs.

When she got downstairs, however, Sasazuka was walking back up, shoving past her as he made his way back into the office. She watched him till he was out of her sight and she frowned. "…" She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and glanced back one last time before she made it outside, but Okazaki was nowhere in sight. With a groan Kotori grabbed out her phone to call him but was stopped.

"Akagawa!"

Kotori turned to see Hideaki Yoshinari rush up to her. "Hi Yoshinari. What's up?" Kotori asked before putting down her phone, "Where's the idiot of a boss you have?" She added.

Yoshinari smiled before he replied, "He went to check on something but he should be right back in a few minutes. He asked if you could wait for him."

Kotori thought about it for a second before she nodded, opting to sit on the curb. But it was longer than just a few minutes. It took him an hour to show up, immediately Kotori threw a rock at him, "Asshole." She murmured before she got up from the curb, with Yoshinari's help. "Where were you?" She asked as she gave him a look.

"I just made sure someone made it home safely, Sasazuka was scary." Okazaki stated.

Kotori wasn't an idiot and pieced it together quickly, "That little-" But she stopped herself, thinking of her next course of action before she sighed softly. "You still up for breakfast?" She asked lightly.

After breakfast with the ever so pushy Okazaki, Kotori had gone out to do some errands, and had even went out of her way to get her cousin something to eat as a snack later when they all met up for her decision. It was all still a bit too much to handle, too much to process in just those few hours of knowing, Ichika could die...

Her whole world revolved around protecting those she loved, around the people she cherished. Her parents, cousins, uncles and aunts, and the few friends she's been able to keep in touch with. Which were probably only a handful aside from Saeki.

It was like reality was playing a cruel joke on her when she had stepped into that room and saw her cousin on that couch. It was as if the universe, that God himself, wanted her to know that she was powerless yet again, that she can't protect even her cousin. The thought made her heart drop into her stomach and bile to build up in her throat.

" _ **Saeki... Do me a tiny favor, yeah?**_ " Kotori found herself texting before she put her phone back in her pocket and waited for his reply. By then, Saeki was probably in the middle of something, or doing nothing. It was a 50/50 chance.

Once she felt a buzz in her hand, buried in her pocket, she pulled out her phone and looked at the message.

" _ **Sure, what's up buttercup!**_ " Saeki replied.

" _ **Tell Kurokawa that I'll be in tomorrow afternoon instead of the morning.**_ " Kotori sent before breathing a bit softly and heading down the street to see Ichika. She needed to talk to her, to make Ichika understand she had very few options, and only one having a bigger chance of ending well.

" _ **You got it! I'll be busy for a while so I'll message you when I get out.**_ "

Kotori stared at the message and didn't even bother responding as she stopped at the light. Shit was hitting the fan so fast she could hardly keep up with it. She was usually so, collected, composed that hardly anything phased her. She knew that was the reason Shiraishi was having so much damn fun. She wasn't looking forward to her next run in with the profiler.

The woman slowly came up to the apartment building, walking in and making her way to Ichika and Kazuki's apartment floor. She had to do everything she could to make sure Ichika would get the best chances she could give the situation and knew very well Ichika would be on the fence about working outside of the office and with ex-cops. She knew her cousin was very dedicated to the job.

 _ **Knock. Knock.**_ _  
_  
Kotori knocked on the door before taking a deep breath when the door slowly opened to reveal the younger of the two siblings. "Hey there Kazuki."

Kazuki looked up at his cousin before looking away a bit, "… Hey." Was his low reply.

"Is your sister asleep?" Kotori asked lightly.

"Nah... She's been trying but she's been mumbling to herself for the last few hours or so, tossing and turning too." Kazuki grumbled, annoyed. He was probably irritated by the fact he couldn't sneak out if his sister was awake.

Kotori nodded before she frowned, "I'm gonna talk with her, why don't you take the opportunity to go out for a bit. Staying holed up here can't be healthy." She whispered before she slipped past him and removed her shoes.

Kazuki seemed to light up before he nodded and went to his room to grab some stuff before he left. Kotori making a bit of noise as she walked into the living room to cover Kazuki's leaving. She would rather not have him hear their conversation either.

"… Ichika." Kotori called out a bit as she walked over to her cousin, setting her bag down as she sat at the edge of the bed.

Her cousin turned to her before suddenly sitting up, tensing a bit. "K-Kotori! What are you doing here-"

"You don't need to be so tense around me, I won't bite you..." Kotori murmured, a bit hurt that her cousin had already changed how she was acting around her presence. "Unlike Sasazuka, I can take no for an answer." She added as she looked away and towards the front door where Kazuki had just left. "What's going through your mind?"

Ichika didn't answer her immediately, and Kotori had begun to contemplate if she was helping Ichika or making it worse by asking, but she finally spoke up, "… So many things, I don't think I can tell you all of them."

"Understandable..." Kotori nodded as she looked towards the ground, at her feet. "I don't know how I'd react if I was in your position." She admitted, frowning a bit more deeply before she bit her lip. "... I wish there was something more I could do for you... I'm pretty helpless... But I can assure you, me and the guys can help you get that collar off... That we can help you out of harm's way before your time is up..."

Ichika looked at her cousin before grabbing her hand, "I know... I know you will do anything to protect me and Kazuki... but those men..." She trailed off.

Kotori sighed, squeezing her cousins hand, "Sasazuka is rough, Enomoto is a bit animated, Shiraishi is eccentric and insensitive, and Yanagi is a bit intimidating... But they're all good people when it comes down to it. At first glance, maybe Yanagi looks like the only one, but I've known them a bit longer than you, and I can tell you they are capable of helping you. That they will, but only if you let them." She persisted.

Ichika looked at her cousin a bit apprehensively, her gaze slowly going to her bed, "... How can you trust them though? Any of them could have put this collar on me, Shiraishi could've planted that letter..."

"Because... They all take pride in their job. Enomoto is in a bit of a rut but he's a good cop. They all are. Shiraishi is just a bit of a... loon." Kotori whispered the last word before shaking her head. "You could die at any moment Ichika... And if you don't figure out what Adonis was talking about by some point before X-Day, how do you know they won't hurt Kazuki or me... Or your mom and dad. You have very few options here, Ichika... I just want you to make the right choice, to give you the best chance you can get..."

The two females sat there in silence for some time before suddenly Kotori's phone went off.

"Sorry..." Kotori apologized before she went to grab her phone from her coat pocket and pulled it out to see the caller ID. Shiraishi? Kotori stared at the screen for a moment before she got up, "I... I need to take this, sorry." She stood to her feet before she sighed deeply once she pressed the answer button. "What is it, catnip-for-brains?" She answered coolly, walking into the kitchen and lowering her voice.

"That's not nice, Akagawa~" Shiraishi cooed on the other side of the phone.

"I know you didn't just call me for idle chit-chat, so what do you need?" Kotori urged as she closed her eyes impatiently.

"I need some of the files I lent you the other day, but I can't go through your stuff. I need them now." Shiraishi explained. There was some shuffling around in the background so he was probably at work, and since there wasn't any yelling, Mukai probably wasn't there. _Perrrrfect..._ Kotori thought sardonically. The last thing she wanted was to be in the same room as Shiraishi, let alone being the only other person in the room with him, but even she didn't want him snooping through her things.

"Fine. I'll be there in a bit, if you get impatient I'll hose you down." Kotori threatened before hanging up, not waiting for his response. "Sorry Ichika, but I have to go into work really quick. I'll try to show up later tonight to help ease you around the guys, but I can't make any promises." Kotori explained before she got her bag and already headed for the door.

Kotori arrived at the station and sighed with relief as she didn't find her superiors or any of the other men she worked with in the office. It was by some miracle that they weren't doing work, not that it wasn't unusual, in the office when she walked in. Quickly looking through her filing cabinet in her desk she grabbed the files Shiraishi needed before walking out into the hallway.

When she did, she ran into someone.

"Ah!" Kotori tripped over the person, stumbling, and falling onto the ground. A few of the papers fell out of the folder and she let out a soft groan of pain after her shoulder hit the tiled floor. "Shit..." Kotori whispered as she slowly pushed herself up from the floor and already began to gather the papers that fell out of the folders.

"Oh? Were you that close to the station?"

Kotori sighed deeply as she turned her head up to see Shiraishi staring down at her with a grin. "I don't like you." She stated bluntly before finishing up gathering the papers and shoving the folders to his chest. "You could've helped." She said curtly, grabbing her bag and heading back into her office.

"But why would I do that since you're the one that wasn't paying attention and ran into me?" Shiraishi sighed before smirking again. "How's that cousin of yours? Is she doing well considering her situation?"

Kotori aimed a kick at the man's head, which he caught in his hand, before he pushed her to get her off balance, but she simply flipped backwards back onto her feet. "Don't talk about Ichika." She hissed venomously. "What? Was there something else you needed or are you just here to bother me, Shiraishi?" She asked.

"I just wanted to know if you convinced the victim to help us." Shiraishi smirked.

"The victim has a name. And I don't know... Ichika is a good person but can be... Pigheaded." Kotori murmured as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She remembered many times where Ichika butted heads with her over her pride and sense of justice.

"I would say that's genetic, but that isn't really the case, is it?" Shiraishi grinned.

She could feel his eyes train on her, she knew he caught the moment her body grew tense.

Kotori looked to Shiraishi slowly, her body language blatantly showing she had her guard up. "... What?" She asked firmly as she narrowed her eyes on him.

"... You know what I mean when I say that, don't you?" Shiraishi smiled as he scratched his head a bit. "It's interesting to know that there is a subject that makes you squirm. I can see how hard you're trying to keep that calm, collected and professional persona on the surface, but beneath that you want to put a gun to my head."

"I didn't think prying into someone else's life was your shtick, Shiraishi. I figured no one was that interesting." Kotori stated as she stared down the much taller, eccentric individual. She couldn't give him what he wanted. To watch her squirm, to lash out. To become emotional where she would normally be emotionally detached. "... I will say this though. Curiosity killed the cat... And I know you've heard that expression before." She said, ominously, before she pushed past him and left the room.

Kotori hastily made her way down the hall and towards the shooting range. Her eyes stared down at the ground the whole time, hoping no one would stop her, afraid that if anyone touched her that she might've shot them.

"...Ugh." She groaned before she made it to her destination and found no one around. "Thank God..." She found herself whispering before she started to set herself up at one of the counters, getting her gun from beneath her coat.

 _"I would say it's genetic, but that's not really the case, is it?"  
_  
Kotori shut her eyes as she held the gun in her hands, careful not to put a finger on the trigger.

 _"Sumire! Kotori! Akemi! Come on girls! It's time to get inside!"_

 _"Okayyyyy...!" The three children groaned as Akemi's mother called the three friends inside. Rushing in from the cold of the winter's snow, all of them smiled at one another, giggling as they noticed their rosy red cheeks and noses.  
_  
 _"Dinner is ready make sure your parents know you're sleeping over." Akemi's mom smiled._

 _"Okay!" Sumire and Kotori said happily._

 _"Help me! Kotori! Please!"_

 _"NO!"_

 _"LEAVE HER ALONE!"_

 _"HELP ME!"_

Kotori lifted up the gun, her eyes shooting open as everything stained red, pulling the trigger more than once, emptying the magazine of her bullets. She only stopped when she couldn't hear the noise of the bullets leaving her gun anymore.

Kotori panted, breathing heavily as that overwhelming, pent up anger crashed over her like a wave, before gradually pulling back into the abyss within her heart.

The female officer leaned against the divider before she fell to her knees, her head was throbbing now and she felt a sharp pain behind one of her eyes. "I hate this..." She whispered softly, letting the gun fall from her hands to the floor. "… I'm sorry... Sumire..."

Kotori was in her apartment when she received Yanagi's text about her cousin agreeing to cooperate with them. A sigh of relief passed her lips as she plopped down onto her couch and pressed her face into the cool pillow. The last 40 hours were a nightmare, and she knew this was only the beginning of it. Her troubles always had a way of creating more chaos. Life was "funny" that way. Throwing everyone through the loop for the benefit of whatever God watched over them.

When her phone started vibrating in her jacket pocket she let out a groan of irritation. Her day off wasn't exactly going as planned, and if it was her superior calling her in, she'd be a little more than pissed.

She didn't even check the ID before holding it to her ear after pressing answer. "Hello?"

"…"

Kotori's brows furrowed in confusion as silence greeted her, "Hello?... Um, this is Kotori Akagawa... Who is this...?" She asked, slowly pushing herself up from the couch.

" _ **We would like to thank you for persuading your cousin into picking the more attractive choice. We would like to have your assistance in maintaining a relationship between Ichika Hoshino and the group you associate with from this point on.**_ "

Kotori frowned, her body tensing up as she stood to her feet, "I didn't do it for you. I did it for Ichika's sake." She hissed harshly. She wasn't in the mood to be toyed with right now. The day completely exhausted her. There was no self-restraint, there was no composure. She couldn't hide her irritation and anger any longer.

" _ **Well your best interest happens to align with ours quite nicely. So you will hear from us again. Thank you for your time, Miss Akagawa.**_ "

The line hung up.

* * *

 **I know this chapter was shorter than the last two but I thought this was a good place to stop. (Considering I have a hard time determining where a good stopping point is when going off the games.)**

 **Anyways, I apologize for the long hiatus, life has been extremely crazy and hard on me and I was in major writers block for a long time. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon. As always, please follow, favorite, and review this fanfiction I would really appreciate it. Till next time!**

 **Sincerely,  
Chess**


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